THE first of the near-300 Syrian refugees to be resettled in Cumbria could arrive in the county within 'the next few months', according to the leader of the county council.

Cumbria County Council (CCC) agreed in December to act as the lead authority in overseeing the rehoming of 285 refugees fleeing atrocities in their country.

During a meeting of the full council in Kendal, CCC leader Stewart Young gave the first indication of when they might arrive under the national Syrian Refugee Resettlement Programme.

"The way it works is the Government selects refugees from the camps they're currently in, having fled from their own country, and then a series of flights are arranged for them to be brought into the country," said Cllr Young.

"Some will have already been brought to the UK but not yet to our area. The regional committee then allocates the refugees to various local authorities.

"We look forward to the first flight coming in and I'm hoping that will be in the next few months and I'm sure Cumbria will give them a warm welcome."

The total number of refugees arriving in Cumbria will be staggered over the next three years, with CCC overseeing a multi-agency approach to integrate them into their new communities.

"The agreement is between a wide range of agencies, primarily the local authorities with their responsibility in terms of housing," added Cllr Young. "We are also working with the police and health services."

The county was first called upon by the Home Office to help refugees from civil-war torn Syria in December 2015 but the discussions were interrupted by the devastation caused by Storm Desmond.

The Syrian Refugee Resettlement Programme was first announced by then-Prime Minister David Cameron in September 2015 with the aim of accommodating 20,000 vulnerable Syrians nationwide.